Bangalore Aviation

Indian Navy's second P-8I maritime surveillance and anti-submarine aircraft arrives

Saturday, November 16, 2013 by Unknown

by Devesh Agarwal

Manufacturer, Boeing has delivered the second P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft to the Indian Navy. The first P-8I was delivered in May. The P-8I is the Indian Navy variant of the P-8A Poseidon that Boeing has developed for the U.S. Navy.

Indian Navy's second P-8I IN-320 departs for India

The two aircraft are currently stationed at INS Rajali, informally known as Arakkonam Naval Air Station, just west of Chennai. The second aircraft will begin flight trials in the coming months, while the first P-8I recently completed testing its weapons capabilities, including successfully firing a Boeing Harpoon missile at a target and dropping a torpedo.

The P-8I features open system architecture, advanced sensor and display technologies, and a worldwide base of suppliers, parts and support equipment. P-8I aircraft are built by a Boeing-led industry team that includes CFM International, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Spirit AeroSystems, BAE Systems and GE Aviation.

Friday, December 10, 2010 by Unknown

Boeing has commenced fabrication of the P-8I the long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft destined for the Indian Navy. India is the first international customer of this variant of the P-8A Poseidon that Boeing is developing for the U.S. Navy, which in turn is based on the popular Boeing 737 passenger aircraft.

This is part of of an eight aircraft order placed by the Indian Navy in January 2009. Earlier, in July this year, Boeing and the Indian Navy completed the final design review of the P-8I.

The P-8I's first part, a bonded aluminium panel that later will be installed on the fuselage's upper lobe to support an antenna, was cut at Spirit AeroSystems, where all Boeing Next-Generation 737 fuselages, nacelles and pylons are designed and built. The panel and other fuselage components will come together on Spirit's existing 737 production line.

Spirit will ship the P-8I fuselage to a Boeing Commercial Airplanes facility in Renton, Wash., in mid-2011 for final assembly. After that, Boeing Defense, Space & Security employees will install mission systems and complete testing prior to delivery to India, expected before January 2013.

Boeing, along with competitor Airbus, have significantly expanded their footprint in India both in the civil aviation, and Boeing is leading the charge in the defence market. Both Boeing and Airbus parent EADS are strong contenders in the Indian Air Force's Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) tender.

Both companies are partnering with India companies to build a supply chain out of India, and both companies have opened R&D and engineering centres in Bangalore, long the technological and aviation capital of India.